How did this happen? Not sure. Dash may have said something stupid that insulted Raven or she may have bragged about her athletic skill and Raven is putting her to the test. No clue. I'll figure it out eventually though.

You know I would imagine that Rainbow Dash, despite being just a Wonderbolt cadet and weather team pony, and not a powerful, battle-hardened Valkyrie princess, somehow managed to fight Raven to a stand still and earning the respect of the entire Valkyrie culture, even the thoroughly humbled Raven.

Well Dash is small and quick which is something Raven isn't used to being that she's usually fighting things at least three times her size. Whether they fight to a standstill or not they definitely become friends over the course of Twi and company's stay in the Valkyrie realm.

Ummmm well I don't really have a specific names for anything but Dash is wearing a Valkyrie scout helmet which is lighter and Raven is wearing a heavier warrior's helmet. Their not really based on anything specific. Possibly medieval horse armor. A bit.

[link] After a quick search that is what I can find for proper names for the helmet bits. The most prominent features of my Valkyrie helmets are the horn and the wing like crests coming off the sides. Beyond that I'd say go with whatever sounds good to you.

Huzzah for Hawk Girl and her helmet! It makes me really happy that you made that connection. And it's fine that Dash's helmet looks dinky. It should actually because its a scout's helmet rather than a warrior's helmet like Raven's. All the warrior's helmets were too big for Dash.

This is neat. Something that I've been meaning to ask though, did you take any inspiration for the Valkyrie Ponies from DC Comics' Amazons and Wonder Woman mythos? The whole idea that they are not born but "made" by magical means, and the fact that there don't appear to be any males among them just reminds me a lot of the Wonder Woman mythos.

Ummm perhaps not directly, though I am familiar with DC's Amazons and Wonder Woman. I was really just thinking about various creation myths (primarily the bits about creating humans or other races). I wanted them to be based on the Norse Valkyrie but I didn't want a pony version of the whole Norse pantheon. Also there is no such thing as a male Valkyrie and I didn't want them just being a tribe of crazy pegasi ladies who...steal fillies...or something in order the rejuvenate their population. Also the more mythic origins allow for greater magic potential and such.